S3E9 "Reign" Discussion and Review

I don't have much to say on this one other than I just absolutely loved everything about that fight. I agree with Kiwi... Glad it was a REAL fight... with Kara hangin in there for a bit, then BAM... it reigned!

Does anyone here think that the final scene with Ruby is a hint that Reign will gradually look different down the line (i.e. comic book Reign)?

That she will start to show her true face later in the season? We can hope so. Great episode again. Excellent fight scenes. We need more fight scenes this season. Are the shows producers going for the Game Of Thrones approach, few fight scenes, but when they have them, their done really well?

They are on the verge of destroying Supergirl's character from likable to unlikable. Good point that any romance drama has come from Kara and I hope the writers realize this. With Kreisberg gone, they should be able to break away from this formula. She is becoming like Barry from season 3.

I am not sure I agree with you about Supergirl who still seems to be a good character, but you raise an interesting question. Where were they in writing and filming when Mr. Kreisberg was iirc put on leave?

It's a bit hard to focus on the rest of the episode when they ended with that fight that was so well done. The fight, SG being a hero and a smaller portion of relationship exploration, should be the template that they utilize from this point on. It puts SG on a different level.

I liked the setup to Reign. Thought they did a pretty good job showing some of her power early and throughout the episode. The way she took down that gang without even being seen gave the appearance of her having a high level of powers. It will be interesting to see where they go with the whole mythology of being a god, the devil and Kryptonian history. Obviously, Coville believes and Hank seems to think there is something to the story but, neither Kara nor Reign believe that they are deities.

I liked the Christmas party, loved the interaction between Winn, Hank and Hank's dad. The only part that I didn't enjoy was Kara's comment about her good buddies, Lena and Sam. Kara's comment about never having best friends like Lena and Sam degrades her relationship with Winn and James, who were considered close enough to be called family in season 1. I'm a firm supporter of girl power but, not to the extent of tossing out history or forcing female relationships that haven't had time to develop yet. as in the case of Sam, who Kara has known for about 3 months.

Mon-el and Irma are okay. Glad to see that Mon-el has moved on, as he should have after 7 years, and that he is happy. Yes, Kara has to have time to adjust to the fact that he is alive, he's back and he's married. Won't happen over night and if Mon-el wasn't in her face, it would be much easier for her to do. I really do hope that the writers don't keep pushing this issue. Don't continue to create love conflict just to have conflict and allow Kara the space to adjust.

I'm not a fan of romantic relationships on the show, and honestly, for awhile I thought this was going to be the Lena and James mid-season finale. That said, the two have just as much chemistry as every other character that they've shoved together and in about the same amount of time. I like that James now seems to have a purpose beyond trying to be a hero, however feeble it is. Question - does he have some kind of power to just call that shield into existence?

Overall- best episode of the season for me thus far. Probably one of my top 10 of all at the moment.

I gave up questioning the logic of these shows when Oliver showed up with a kryptonite arrow last week. Also Coville ....So there are other kryptonians that Kara didn’t catch from fort rozz still living on earth. Wonder if some of them are actually trying to live human lives. Also wonder if Kara will run into the priestess coville found later on

This is kinda off topic to the storyline but just curious too, does Tom Welling have a tattoo? I didn't think so, or at least never heard of it but then it did look like he had some round tattoo on his upper arm this episode? :/ Well the picture of what it was exactly, I couldn't really see; not a bruise the make up people trying to cover something? Hmm?

This is kinda off topic to the storyline but just curious too, does Tom Welling have a tattoo? I didn't think so, or at least never heard of it but then it did look like he had some round tattoo on his upper arm this episode? :/ Well the picture of what it was exactly, I couldn't really see; not a bruise the make up people trying to cover something? Hmm?

Tom Welling?????

This is kinda off topic to the storyline but just curious too, does Tom Welling have a tattoo? I didn't think so, or at least never heard of it but then it did look like he had some round tattoo on his upper arm this episode? :/ Well the picture of what it was exactly, I couldn't really see; not a bruise the make up people trying to cover something? Hmm?

Tom Welling?????

Yeah he acts Ruby didn’t you know?

I DON'T WANT TO SEE KARA RECOVERING THAT LONG. First 10 minutes showing everyone worried....done. but out of it before the 2nd commercial break.

James would have done nothing against Reign. Him stepping in is no different to Alex or Winn stepping in. In fact Alex is better than him.

James would have done nothing against Reign. Him stepping in is no different to Alex or Winn stepping in. In fact Alex is better than him.

Yes, I'm not stating that it would have made any difference. It's that he didn't even make an attempt to help. I can guarantee you that if Alex was there, she would have done everything she could have to help even if it meant dying by doing so. James is a self-proclaimed hero, Superman's best bud and one of Kara's closest friends. All factors that should have pushed him into the fight. I don't think it's a James issue, just a writing issue. They just shouldn't have put him in that scene in the first place.

Adding on to what Brierrose said...

The DEO wouldn't have been able to keep up. They were all over the city.

As for J'onn, it's entirely within the realm of possibility that he didn't realize how in trouble Kara was until the damage was done. She wasn't communicating with the DEO, and he can't read Kryptonian minds.

By the time the fight settled down to one area, Kara's downfall was pretty swift.

All this being said, I don't want Kara's next fight with Reign to be a 180. They should remain evenly matched. The fights need to be this quality with all their encounters. That doesn't mean Kara needs to be beaten within an inch of her life, every time. But the fights need to be the quality of the portion at the Christmas party. The back and forth between Supergirl and Reign was fantastic and incredibly well done.

Finally, a fight that didn't come down to heat vision between Kryptonians.

In the comics, she doesn't defeat Reign....Reign is afraid that Kara will kill all of her World killer buddies and they all take off for greener pastures....my paraphrase of course.

I can picture Lena saying something like "Kara Danvers we will talk about why you didn't trust me but right now it's more important that we figure out how to beat this thing".

Yes, ma'am. That! Plus... Lena DOES tend to call Kara by her full "Earth" name when she feels Kara has been naughty. lol So, yeah... I'd be totally down for this being how Lena finds out.

I can picture Lena saying something like "Kara Danvers we will talk about why you didn't trust me but right now it's more important that we figure out how to beat this thing".

Yes, ma'am. That! Plus... Lena DOES tend to call Kara by her full "Earth" name when she feels Kara has been naughty. lol So, yeah... I'd be totally down for this being how Lena finds out.

Hmmmm....no, yes she would of course do everything she could to save her, but IMO, she wouldn't speak to her at all, she would just do what needed to be done. It has to hit deeper than that, to the point that she of course wants to save her, but she is hurt beyond compare at that time. So, no speaking to Kara only helping her.

I'm probably in the minority but, I don't think that Lena should find out. I really don't see a necessity for it. Everything that has happened can either be excused or covered by J'onn. And with Lillian as her mother and Lex as her brother, Lena knowing would do more harm than good to Kara. It would just be another door opened to the Luthors and the rest of the world finding out and getting to Kara. Not to mention the fact that we still don't know how Lena is going to be down the road, if she will stay on the right side of morality or not.

***Editing this so I don't double post because I forgot to ask about Supergirl's suit. From the comics, is it supposed to have some type of special powers or is it reinforced in some way? The aftereffects of Reign's laser to her chest with the cloth ripped open but, the emblem still showing through underneath gave that impression.

I can picture Lena saying something like "Kara Danvers we will talk about why you didn't trust me but right now it's more important that we figure out how to beat this thing".

Yes, ma'am. That! Plus... Lena DOES tend to call Kara by her full "Earth" name when she feels Kara has been naughty. lol So, yeah... I'd be totally down for this being how Lena finds out.

Hmmmm....no, yes she would of course do everything she could to save her, but IMO, she wouldn't speak to her at all, she would just do what needed to be done. It has to hit deeper than that, to the point that she of course wants to save her, but she is hurt beyond compare at that time. So, no speaking to Kara only helping her.

Fair enough. I could see that.

James would have done nothing against Reign. Him stepping in is no different to Alex or Winn stepping in. In fact Alex is better than him.

Yes, I'm not stating that it would have made any difference. It's that he didn't even make an attempt to help. I can guarantee you that if Alex was there, she would have done everything she could have to help even if it meant dying by doing so. James is a self-proclaimed hero, Superman's best bud and one of Kara's closest friends. All factors that should have pushed him into the fight. I don't think it's a James issue, just a writing issue. They just shouldn't have put him in that scene in the first place.

Alex was there. Alex did nothing.

I'm probably in the minority but, I don't think that Lena should find out. I really don't see a necessity for it. Everything that has happened can either be excused or covered by J'onn. And with Lillian as her mother and Lex as her brother, Lena knowing would do more harm than good to Kara. It would just be another door opened to the Luthors and the rest of the world finding out and getting to Kara. Not to mention the fact that we still don't know how Lena is going to be down the road, if she will stay on the right side of morality or not.

***Editing this so I don't double post because I forgot to ask about Supergirl's suit. From the comics, is it supposed to have some type of special powers or is it reinforced in some way? The aftereffects of Reign's laser to her chest with the cloth ripped open but, the emblem still showing through underneath gave that impression.

For the question regarding why Kara's suit doesn't shred...

There were numerous reasons for this in the comics, for Superman, over the years. The first was that it was Kryptonian fabric that came in his pod. This obviously doesn't work for Kara, as Winn made her suit.

Another is that it was treated with certain chemicals. Again, out of the realm of possibility for Winn at the beginning of season one.

A more modern reason was that Kryptonians, under a yellow sun, emit a very thin aura over their bodies. This aura is at least part of their invulnerability. And it can protect any clothing close enough to their skin, but not loose fitting clothing.

This is likely the reason one would use for Supergirl. It explains why her original cape shredded in the pilot, as it's loose fitting. It explains why her clothes went up in flames in "Ace Reporter, but her suit was fine. And like any Kryptonian ability, this aura would depend on the solar radiation within the subjects cells. So if that radiation ran low or were exhausted, the subject's invulnerability would be compromised.

Also, invulnerability, in the context of Kryptonians, is a relative term. They aren't really invulnerable. It's just enhanced durability. If someone considerably stronger attacked, they would still be able to take damage, just as any human would in a fight.

This explains why Reign was able to make Supergirl bleed and bruise, as well as burn the emblem off her suit. She either exhausted the solar radiation in Supergirl's body, or was just strong enough damage Supergirl, despite her enhanced durability.

My theory is that the fight with Reign was a combination of those 2 factors. With every hit, bits of the solar radiation in her cells were depleted by the Supergirl's enhanced durability taking the overwhelming damage of Reign's blows. By the end, most of solar radiation was depleted, but not all of it. This is why Reign's heat vision damaged her suit, but did not completely penetrate it. It's also why Kara was still alive after her fall. If she were completely depleted of Solar radiation, she would have never survived the fall. She would have been just as vulnerable as any human. But enough of it was depleted to where she was either incapable of flying, or she was just on the verge of passing out before the fall even started.

She looked like she passed out on the way down, if you ask me.

No, I think they used material from clothing from the pod as well as Kal-el's blanket for the cape.

No, I think they used material from clothing from the pod as well as Kal-el's blanket for the cape.

Right, at the end of the pilot. But her very first cape, during the montage sequence with her costume changes, her "original" gets all shot up at the bank.

I was saying the reason her main bodysuit doesn't get shredded due to that "aura" of enhanced durability.

Every time I re-watch the episode, I get to this scene and I have to chuckle a little. Obviously, the scenario is not a funny situation but, I can't help but laugh a little at the guy kneeling down behind Alex. Here we have a big ole' spotlight shining down on Supergirl, flooding the area with light and then we have this guy, who's holding a pin-light in an attempt to help shed some light on the area.

Makes me laugh in an otherwise very dreary scene.

Alex told Kara to go to her alien side. That may have been the wrong answer, at least if they ever work out who Reign is. Appealing to Reign through Ruby may be the right answer.

Agreed, they keep emphasizing Sam's relationship to her daughter.....which was something the evil scientists dismissed too quickly. I think Reign herself might dismiss Ruby but too late. Because I hope the kid is smart enough to realize the difference between her mother and Reign when she gets into her episodes.